Greensboro Urban Ministry

Obituary for Susan C. Perini-Wagoner

Susan Perini Wagoner (born Susan Christine Perini, January 3, 1970)–wild and wonderful woman—left this earth on July 11, 2022, after a 3-month heroic battle with a most aggressive cancer.

A native of Buffalo, NY, Susan relocated to Greensboro in 1977, her family settling in the eclectic juvenile haven of Friar Tuck Road. She graduated from Grimsley High School and UNCG. She was always an active person; she trained hard and completed many marathons. In addition to running, she loved soccer and tennis. She loved heavy metal and rocked out at many concerts old-school 80’s style. On her bucket list was learning to play the drums. Not being one to avoid a challenge, when she turned 43, she bought a drum set, hired an instructor named Danny, and fell in love. They married two years later in 2015 on a pier on the North Carolina coast. They bought their dream home—she loved that house—with a basement big enough to hold multiple drum sets and host raucous rock ‘n roll parties.

Susan’s career in pharmaceutical, device, and laboratory sales took her to Connecticut and Atlanta for a number of years before returning to her home of Greensboro. She had an unbelievable work ethic and poured every ounce of energy into bringing therapies to people in need. She had a larger-than-life personality and an ever-present positive energy that radiated a warm glow to all around her.

Her favorite place was the beach. She spent some years maintaining a residence in both Greensboro and Wilmington to be near the ocean, to learn to surf and play volleyball. She took annual trips to Aruba or Turk's and Caicos. In recent years she and Danny vacationed each May on Figure Eight Island. She said crossing the drawbridge onto the island melted all the noise away and immersed her in peace. She spent the last week of her life on that island and enjoyed several days feeling the sand, warming in the sun, and watching the waves.

She is preceded in death by her father Florian. She is survived by her husband Danny Wagoner and their pets Roxy, James Bond, and Randy; her stepson Holden and his wife Lauren; her mother Ann Marie; her brother Mark and his wife Sherry; and she truly adored nieces, Layna and Reese. Sue Sue loved you girls so, so much.

Susan and her family would like to thank her friends who helped her in her time of need and Dr. Elizabeth Golding for her unspeakable kindness, expertise, and loving care, as well as the excellent nurses and staff of the Wesley Long Intensive Care Unit. Any donations in her honor would be best directed to her favorite charity, Greensboro Urban Ministries.

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